Beginner's Vocal mic recording question....

[slick_du]

Just setting up a budget/hobby home studio with a Tascam PortaStudio 424 mkII. I have an AKG D770 (Emotion Series) and a SM57 for mics. I bought the D770 as a versatile mic for both vocals and instruments after I demo'd it against a 58.

My question is that I have recorded a few things with the D770 and although its got a nice clear sound feel like I need something to soften/richen it with some slight reverb or delay. What would you guys recommend on that? Alternatively, if that is going to cost a little dough, is it worth getting a better quality vocal mic instead?

I don't want to sink too much more money into it at this time, but I at least want to have a vocal quality that I'm relatively satisfied with. Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[dres]

Be careful how far you fall into the money pit ! It's a never ending cycle ... beter mic, better preamp, better recored etc. !

All that aside, Lexicon sell quite a few low priced FX units that you could have a lot of fun with. MPX-100 or MPX-200 for instance.

You should be able to go a long way with your SM57. If your feeling handy you could build your own mic pre eg:
http://sound.westhost.com/project66.htm

I've built a version based on the SSM 2017 mentioned in this article and it's not bad at all. Should be able to make a workable unit for under $AUS 50.

If you want to push the boundaries any further I suggest you'll want to upgrade your recorder... might find some cheap second hand hard disk options on ebay... or you can go down the computer based road..... Before you know it you'll be in the money pit, unable to escape !! Well as long as you have fun !

 

[regebro]

For delay, especially on vocals, I'd recommend a Roland Space Echo, and for vocals a Lexicon PCMsomething. And yes, there are probablyout of your budget, and the Lexicon PCM are surely far beyond my budget.

But the thing is that with delay, any delay that doesn't have a lot of noise will probably do. And the cheaper Lexicons sound good too.

Personally, I usually record vocals by putting them first through a delay and then through a compressor. This makes the delay "duck" behind the vocals, which adds space without muddying it up.

I also add a small amount of reverb in the mix, which I do to everything, to make the mix sound more coherent.

 

[Richard Monroe]

If you're looking for reverb Lexicon MPX100 is almost a no brainer. Eventually, you will want condensers, but unless I missed a mixer, you don't have phantom power. Consider a dynamic mic upgrade. Shure SM7 rocks, and others on this board will chime in with favorites. Then you will reach the limits of the preamps in your Tascam, but that is for another time, We feel your hunger for gear-Richie

 

[TexRoadkill]

Personally, I usually record vocals by putting them first through a delay and then through a compressor. This makes the delay "duck" behind the vocals, which adds space without muddying it up.

That's a cool trick. So you only compress the delayed signal? Are you using the orignal vocal to trigger the compressor?

 

[BrettB]

cool idea idd, but how can you just compress the delayed part only? Do you sent it to a seperate track or so?

 

[destorctr]

if you wish to spend the $ on good sounds for vocals i sugest the helicon voice prism i just got one and its rad! the olny unit i have seen with real human voice modulation dose any one sugesst comp. on mix down into computer ? to keep controll of signal so not to keep to hot during transfer? or does it squash? if orignal signal is compressed?